Leaders Discuss Progress, Problems on World Water Day

Women and girls in some regions of the world spend up to 8 hours every day collecting water for their households.

Environmental and other leaders in water and sanitation efforts gathered in Washington, D.C. on March 22 in honor of World Water Day, which focused this year on the theme “Coping with Water Scarcity.” The conference, hosted by the nonprofit group Water Advocates, highlighted the groundbreaking initiatives being undertaken in many countries to address water and sanitation issues. Although unsafe water and sanitation remains the world’s greatest health problem, it is also the “most solvable,” according to Water Advocates’ John Oldfield.

U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) noted at the event that 4,500 children die every day from a lack of clean water. He encouraged participants to go on an “impact trip,” such as helping to dig a well in Uganda, and observed that such actions are “saving lives and saving our souls at the same time.” Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) added that half of the world’s sick people are needlessly ill because of unclean water and sanitation—“perhaps the most important issues that most Americans never think about.”

The scope and urgency of the problem are immense, according to Jim Hughes of Emory University’s Center for Global Safe Water. He noted that 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water sources, and nearly 40 percent of the global population does not have access to basic sanitation. To reach the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people lacking access to these basic resources by 2015, 300,000 people per day would need to gain access to them, he noted.

The United Nations Foundation’s Tanvi Nagpal discussed the impact of clean water and sanitation on women and girls, who in some countries spend up to 8 hours daily collecting water for their households, preventing them from attending school. Reverend Al Bailey of New Psalmist Baptist Church and Ron Denham of Rotary International discussed the role of their respective communities in raising awareness and taking action to prevent sickness and death due to unclean water.

The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is bringing greater attention to the issue by launching a new water Web page, NRDC attorney Melanie Nakagawa noted at the event. And photographer Gil Garcetti introduced his upcoming photography book, Water is Key, documenting water, sanitation, and women’s lives in West Africa. Mark Winter of the Millennium Water Alliance noted that improving access to clean water not only reduces disease, but can also lessen violence over limited resources. He spoke of his dream of building “peace wells” in places where they are most needed, observing that we should “consider water as a currency for peace.”

More Information:

State of the World 2007, Chapter 2: Providing Clean Water and Sanitation

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.